Buying handbuilt wheels

[lulubel]

I put my first wheel together today. I haven't started truing it yet because I was getting tired, and I didn't think starting truing already tired was a good idea. Lacing was fairly simple, although I was a bit worried about how much I had to bend the spokes to get them through, and then horrified by the weird shapes and curves they were making when I got them all in. Then I took up the slack and they were fine. Phew!

I think my spoke tensions are all over the place, despite (or probably because of) using my homemade nipple driver. I realise the importance of having fairly even spoke tensions, so I'll correct them during the truing stage.

One thing I was a bit concerned about was knowing how tight they need to be when it's finished. All I could get from the book was they need to be tight, but not too tight. Then it occured to me to see how tight they are on some of our other bikes. The spokes on my cheap Raleigh that I use on the trainer are really loose - I could turn the nipples easily - but they were quite difficult to turn on the undamaged back wheel of my old bike. Since it was an entry level bike and the wheels are built on Alex rims, I suspect they're still a bit looser than they could be, so I don't think I need to worry. I'll just make sure they're nice and tight!

So, this evening I have something that looks like a wheel, but looks can be very deceiving.

 

[ColinJ]

You can get an idea of how tight the spokes are by plucking them like the strings on a harp! The musical notes they give off give you an idea of how even your spoke tension is. (It's dead easy to spot a loose spoke because it just goes thud rather than twang! (A really loose one just rattles.)

 

[User16625]

I just use the wheels that come with the bike. Wheels dont make much difference anyway. So long as theyre strong and light. Im aware time trialists prefer adding carbon fibre disk things to their wheels but they cost a bit.

 

[Crackle]

Did you buy or make a truing jig?

 

[lulubel]

You can get an idea of how tight the spokes are by plucking them like the strings on a harp! The musical notes they give off give you an idea of how even your spoke tension is. (It's dead easy to spot a loose spoke because it just goes thud rather than twang! (A really loose one just rattles.)

I'm going to try to use the plucking method, which could be interesting since I'm not far away from tone deaf. If all else fails, I'll have to get my OH to come and listen!

Did you buy or make a truing jig?

I bodged something up using the forks from my old bike (which I lined up against the identical forks on my OH's bike first to check they were still both pointing in the right direction - amazingly, they were) and a few bits of wood. As far as I can gather, as long as the hub's locked in place, and you've got fixed reference points to check the rim against, that's all you need for lateral and radial trueness. Checking the dish is a different matter, so I actually followed the instructions to make the cardboard dishing gauge! It's a good thing we've got a bit lazy about getting rid of empty boxes lately - we were very efficient when we first moved into the apartment - and I had some cardboard to use.

I was hoping to make a start on truing it this afternoon, but I've got a migraine threatening, so I'll probably leave it until tomorrow now. I'm STILL waiting for my second order from CRC before I can get on with the rest of the bike, and that won't be here before Monday now, so I've got the whole weekend to work on the wheels.